There are only a handful of people in the history of the league that can claim to have gone to the NBA Finals more than 10 times, and very few have managed it just during their playing careers. The elite club of NBA legends that have won rings as players as well as coaches is short and littered with some of the biggest names in NBA history: Bill Russell, Phil Jackson, and Pat Riley, to name a few.
One of the people on that list is Steve Kerr, who has 8 rings, 5 as a player and 3 as a coach. And not just that, Kerr finds himself in the NBA Finals once again this season chasing the 9th championship of his career, and 4th as a Head Coach. Kerr has now competed in the Finals as either a player or a coach in 4 consecutive decades.
Kerr was a part of the second three-peat for the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s, alongside Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman, hitting one of the most iconic shots of that era. In the 1997 Finals, he hit the title-winning shot against the Utah Jazz. He would then go on to win in 1999 as a part of the San Antonio Spurs, before doing it again in 2003.
His coaching stint with the Warriors has been even more legendary. Kerr has lost fewer playoff series as coach of Golden State than he has won titles, an incredible stat. His success points to the fact that some people take a winning culture with them wherever they go, one of the most prized traits in the NBA.
Kerr has his work cut out for him if he wishes to add his 9th ring to his resume, though, with the Boston Celtics being a tough nut to crack. Their elite defense and explosive ability from three-point range makes them a nightmare matchup, but despite the Warriors losing Game 1, not many people would bet against Kerr and his team just yet,
